Zack and Miri Make a Porno (18)

The ViewLondon Review

Smartly directed, superbly acted and frequently hilarious comedy – this is Kevin Smith's best film since Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

What's it all about?
Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play Zack and Miri (short for Miriam), two lifelong best friends who live together while holding down low-level jobs. When their electricity and plumbing get cut off, they hit upon the idea of making a porn movie to solve their financial crisis, so they enlist the help of some friends and start holding auditions.

The Good
Rogen and Banks have terrific onscreen chemistry – you believe in both their friendship and their never-acted-upon attraction for each other. The script is equally good, crackling with filthy one-liners but also containing a sweetness you don't usually associate with Kevin Smith movies.

The supporting cast are equally good and they each get a chance to shine, though the stand-outs are an almost unrecognisable Jason Mewes (Jay to Smith's Silent Bob) and a brilliantly deadpan Craig Robinson (from the US version of The Office) as hen-pecked producer, Delaney. In addition, Smith scores something of a comedy coup by getting Superman's Brandon Routh to play the boyfriend of a gay porn star (Justin Long, hilarious).

The Great
Thankfully, the gross-out gags are kept to a bare minimum, though there is at least one superbly-timed moment that's guaranteed to make an entire audience recoil in horror while simultaneously laughing out loud. Similarly, the sex scenes are genuinely funny, while the pivotal Zack and Miri scene is extremely well directed and brilliantly acted by Rogen and Banks.

Worth seeing?
Zack and Miri Make A Porno is a warm-hearted, superbly written and frequently hilarious romcom with terrific comic performances from Rogen and Banks. Highly recommended.